Written Answers Wednesday 2 March 2005

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on drug rehabilitation services for offenders in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive provides ring fenced funding through Section 27 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to local authorities for the delivery of services to offenders. The following amounts have been allocated by authorities on specific programmes for drug misusing offenders. This funding covers programmes for those offenders subject to a condition of drug treatment as part of a probation order, the introduction of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders and the piloting of drug courts in Glasgow and Fife. It also includes the contributory funding provided by the Executive for the piloting of arrest referral schemes in six areas.

  

1999-2000
(£)
2000-01
(£)
2001-02
(£)
2002-03
(£)
2003-04
(£)
2004-05
(£)


688,719
1,440,613
1,769,247
4,309,773
6,249,163
7,584,268



  In addition, local authorities are responsible, in partnership with local drug and alcohol teams, for the provision of substance misuse services in their areas, including drug rehabilitation. The Executive provides £6.8 million a year to local authorities through the revenue settlement.

Alcohol Misuse

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on alcohol rehabilitation services for offenders in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive provides ring fenced funding through Section 27 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to local authorities for the delivery of services to offenders. The following amounts have been allocated to authorities on specific programmes for those offenders with alcohol related problems.

  

1999-2000
(£)
2000-01
(£)
2001-02
(£)
2002-03
(£)
2003-04
(£)
2004-05
(£)


305,372
412,421
374,454
425,279
469,924
468,900



  Other counselling work will be carried out by criminal justice social workers with this client group but as part of non-specific mainstream funding.

  In addition, local authorities are responsible, in partnership with local drug and alcohol teams, for the provision of substance misuse services in their areas including alcohol rehabilitation. The Executive provides £6.8 million a year to local authorities through the revenue settlement.

Crime

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded assaults there have been in (a) Glasgow, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland in each of the last five years and how many of these assaults involved a knife or sharp object.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on the numbers of serious assaults recorded by the police in the city of Glasgow and Scotland is published for each year in table 8 of the relevant statistical bulletins Recorded Crime in Scotland , copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 7079, 13119, 20798, 27678 and 33018).

  For information on the number of petty assaults recorded by the police in the city of Glasgow and Scotland for the years 1999 to 2002, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-1087 on 22 July 2003. For the equivalent information for 2003, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-12502 on 7 December 2004.

  For information on the number of serious assaults recorded by the police in Strathclyde for the years 1999 to 2003, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-9865 on 30 August 2004.

  Information on the numbers of petty assaults recorded by the police in Strathclyde is published for each year in table 4A of the relevant statistical bulletins Recorded Crime in Scotland, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 7079, 13119, 20798, 27678 and 33018).

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

  The statistics available centrally on crimes of assault recorded by the police do not distinguish the circumstances of the assault, such as the type of any weapon involved.

Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether geography will remain a core subject in all primary and secondary schools.

Peter Peacock: As part of the over-arching review of the curriculum 3-18, a cycle of continuous updating and reform of all areas of learning, including geography, has begun. A programme board has been set up to take this work forward. It has yet to determine a timetable for the review of geography and other areas of learning. There is no intention to abolish the teaching of geography as a key aspect of learning.

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is helping schools to promote the teaching of music.

Peter Peacock: It is the responsibility of the individual education authorities and head teachers to make decisions on how best to promote the teaching of music. The Scottish Executive does, however, provide advice on the provision of music tuition in the classroom, primarily in the form of curriculum guidelines.

  The Scottish Arts Council has been charged by the First Minister with administering £17.5 million over three years from 2003–06 to assist education authorities in ensuring that every primary school pupil has the opportunity to have at least one year’s free music tuition before they reach primary 6.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education to publish details of the standards of behaviour and attendance achieved across local authorities in its annual inspection report.

Peter Peacock: Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) produces an annual report in which it reviews its progress in meeting its business objectives. One of its 2003-04 objectives was to report on progress in schools and authorities on implementing Better Behaviour – Better Learning .

  On 2 March 2005 the Inspectorate produced is report A Climate for Learning, in which it comments on the standards of behaviour in schools observed and reported from school and authority inspections up to March 2004. It is intended that HMIE will periodically produce a report which looks at progress on Better Behaviour – Better Learning.

  The Scottish Executive’s annual statistical publication on Attendance and Absence in Scottish Schools reports on school and authority-level attendance.

Efficient Government

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements have been made to the Executive’s operation by its Performance and Innovation Unit

Mr Tom McCabe: The Performance and Innovation Unit has principally been involved in development of the longer term and radical elements of the Efficient Government plan Building a Better Scotland: Efficient Government – securing Efficiency, Effectiveness and Productivity . The unit is now leading projects in support of the long term programme set out in the plan such as in long-term financial planning, streamlining bureaucracy and better performance management information. A copy of the unit’s work programme under the Efficient Government Initiative has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35413).

Employment

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of manufacturing employment was in (a) 1979, (b) 1997, (c) 1999 and (d) 2004.

Mr Jim Wallace: The table reports the level of manufacturing employment in Scotland in 1979 and for the spring quarter in 1997, 1999 and 2004.

  The manufacturing employment estimate for 1979 is not directly comparable with the estimates for 1997, 1999 and 2004 due to changes in the definition of manufacturing. The 1979 classification of manufacturing activity was broader and included activities which would now be classified in other industry groups. For example, in 1979 individuals working in vehicle repairs were categorised in the manufacturing sector whereas in 1997 they would fall into the service sector.

  The spring quarter runs from March to May in each year. These figures are estimated from the Labour Force Survey which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

  Table 1: Level of Manufacturing Employment1, Scotland

  

Year
Level of Manufacturing Employment


1979*
622,000


1997**
380,000


1999**
336,000


2004**
282,000



  Source: ONS - Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarters.

  Notes:

  1. Employment levels are for people aged 16 or over.

  * - Manufacturing employment classified using minimum list headings.

  ** - Manufacturing employment classified using standard industrial classification 1992.

Employment

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many manufacturing jobs were created in (a) Scotland and, (b) Glasgow in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004.

Mr Jim Wallace: Statistics on the number of jobs created in Scotland and Glasgow are not held centrally. However, data is available on the change in the level of manufacturing jobs. Statistics for 2003 are the latest data available.

  Table 1 Annual Change in Level of Manufacturing Jobs

  

 
Scotland
Glasgow


1998-99
-11,700
-300


1999-2000
-13,000
-1,100


2000-01
-17,000
300


2001-02
-21,600
-2,700


2002-03
-19,900
-1,900



  Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

  Note: The data is rounded to the nearest hundred.

Environment

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for environmental crime there have been in each year since 1999.

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many successful prosecutions for environmental crime there have been in each year since 1999.

Elish Angiolini QC: Environmental offences cover a wide range of statutory offences including, but not limited to, the Control of Pollution Act 1974, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environment Act 1995, and can be reported to the Procurator Fiscal by a number of different reporting agencies. It is not possible to obtain the information requested from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal database. The information sought therefore could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Environment

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the proposed memorandum of understanding between Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to help address issues of development constraint.

Lewis Macdonald: My officials will meet with Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to progress this issue in the next few weeks. It is intended that the memorandum of understanding will be in place by 1 April 2006.

European Union

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take rapid action to ensure that the EU Commission has all the information it requires to complete its audit into European regional development funding in the Highlands and Islands.

Allan Wilson: In respect of the initial audit undertaken in 2003 the Scottish Executive has already provided a substantial response including all documentation requested. As to the forthcoming audit, officials are working closely with applicants to ensure that all documentation is available to the commission auditors at the time of the visit. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the individual applicants to ensure that all original documentation is available.

Fuel Poverty

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4454 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 15 December 2003, whether it received responses from the companies concerned regarding the rise in disconnections and, if so, what those responses were.

Malcolm Chisholm: Officials met with the companies concerned in January and February 2004 and were given reassurances that steps had been taken to ensure that the number of disconnections would not continue to rise.

  In my recent meetings with fuel supply companies, I have been reassured that companies are trying to keep the number of disconnections to a minimum.

  Disconnections for debt in Scotland have fallen sharply over the last year. In 2003, the total number was 756; in 2004 it was 138.

Further and Higher Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13677 by Mr Jim Wallace on 1 February 2005, whether it has concerns about the reduction in numbers of Scottish-domiciled graduates.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive is committed to ensuring that those entering higher education achieve their potential and graduate from their chosen course. The number of people who enter higher education will fluctuate from year-to-year and whilst there has been a reduction in the number of graduates under 25 from Scottish higher education institutions over the past four years Scotland still achieves a higher rate of participation in higher education than any other part of the UK.

  For the reasons explained in the answer to question S2W-14267, answered on 2 March 2005, the decline in the overall number of graduates is partly explained by the different method of collecting data on the numbers acquiring a sub-degree. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search.

Further and Higher Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13677 by Mr Jim Wallace on 1 February 2005, what the improvements were in data collection for graduates from further education colleges.

Mr Jim Wallace: The improvement in data collection mentioned in the answer to question S2W-13677, answered on 1 February 2005, refers to the outcomes for continuing students who study at further education colleges. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search .

  Students on a two year course that results in an intermediate qualification after one year (such as HNC) were previously counted at the intermediate stage and again at the end of the course (such as HND). From 2001-02 these students are only included when they obtain their final qualification at their institution. An explanation of the change was published in the Statistics Publication Notice, Higher Education Graduates and Diplomates in Scotland: 2001-02, issued 20 November 2003.

  The effect of the change was to reduce from 2001-02 the number of people counted as achieving higher education qualifications from further education colleges, both in West Dunbartonshire and Scotland as a whole. Data on the number of graduates at higher education institutions are not affected.

Health

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it can take to ensure that hospital prescriptions are dispensed more rapidly to avoid delays in the discharge of patients.

Mr Andy Kerr: In any dispensary patient safety is of paramount importance. It is a matter for NHS boards to ensure safe and efficient systems of work which comply with medicines legislation and with Medicines, Ethics and Practice: A Guide for Pharmacists , published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society for Great Britain.

Holyrood Inquiry

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13224 by Ms Margaret Curran on 31 January 2005, whether it will publish all correspondence between the office of the First Minister and the BBC in relation to Wark Clements’ production, "The Gathering Place".

Ms Margaret Curran: Following a search of our files, we have found a letter dated 24 October 2003 from John McCormick, BBC Scotland Controller, to the First Minister. I have placed a copy in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35515). The letter covered a copy of Mr McCormick’s letter to the Fraser Inquiry which was sent to the First Minister for Information.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many householders have received home loss payments in each local authority area in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally. It is likely to be available from authorities with compulsory purchase powers, individual local authorities and registered housing associations.

Housing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are living in residential caravans or mobile homes on unprotected sites.

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many residential caravans or mobile homes are situated on licensed sites.

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households living in residential caravans or mobile homes, excluding gypsies/travellers, do not have access to (a) water, (b) heating and (c) electricity.

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people renting caravans or mobile homes in the social rented sector or privately have tenancy agreements.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

Housing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households are housed in caravans or mobile homes by local authorities in meeting their duties to homeless people, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Caravans and mobile homes are not identified separately in statistics collected centrally on households in temporary accommodation.

Housing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of caravans or mobile homes is (a) owned outright, (b) privately rented and (c) social rented.

Malcolm Chisholm: The 2001 Census recorded the following proportions in relation to caravans or other mobile or temporary structures:

  
(a) owned outright: 56.0%, (b) privately rented: 32.7% and (c) social rented: 11.3%.

Housing

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will collect information on the reasons why people, with the exception of gypsies/travellers, live in caravans and mobile homes.

Malcolm Chisholm: We will give this suggestion consideration in the development of our research programme.

Justice

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-3920 by Hugh Henry on 11 November 2004 regarding thresholds for the small claims procedure, when it intends to introduce amendments to these thresholds.

Hugh Henry: Our view has not changed that the case is made for increasing both the small claims limit and the privative limit of the Court of Session. We are continuing to consider all arguments and representations as to the right levels.

Ministerial Visits

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools the Minister and Deputy Minister for Education and Young People have visited in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years, detailing each school visited and the date of, and reasons for, each visit.

Peter Peacock: Ministers and Deputy Ministers for Education and Young People made the following number of visits to schools in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

  

Year
Aberdeen City
Aberdeenshire


2000
3
0


2001
10
2


2002
4
1


2003
2
0


2004
3
1



  The following table gives details of the schools visited, date and reasons for the visit.

  Visits by ministers will, to some extent, reflect invitations they receive.

  Table: Visits Made by the Minister and Deputy Minister for Education and Young People to Schools in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Between January 2000 and December 2004.

  

Date
Minister
Local Authority
School
Reason


14/01/2000 
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Dyce Academy 
Announcement: funding for music school


24/01/2000 
Minister
Aberdeen City
Charleston Primary
Opening of school


18/12/2000 
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Tullos Primary
Modernising Government Fund Announcement


01/02/2001 
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Torry Academy
Meeting with Torry Community Council


02/02/2001 
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Hanover Street Primary
General Visit


23/04/2001 
Minister and Deputy
Aberdeen City
Walker Road Primary
Immersion Project


23/04/2001 
Minister
Aberdeen City
Torry Academy
General Visit


23/04/2001
Minister
Aberdeenshire
Alford Academy
General Visit


23/04/2001
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Aberdeen Grammar
Teacher Seminar (Discipline Task Group)


18/06/2001
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Torry Academy
Opening: Equal Opportunities Morning


22/06/2001
Deputy
Aberdeenshire
Banchory Academy
Scholar Forum


25/06/2001
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Kincorth Academy
Awards Ceremony


31/08/2001
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Oakbank School
(Independent)
General Visit


07/09/2001
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Fernielea Primary
General Visit


09/11/2001
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Kincorth Academy
Education for Work Meeting


27/05/2002
Minister and Deputy
Aberdeen City
Northfield Academy
General Visit


28/05/2002
Minister
Aberdeen City
Hazelwood Special School
Special Needs Forum


30/05/2002
Minister and Deputy
Aberdeen City
Linksfield Academy
S1-S3 Event for National Debate on Education


07/06/2002
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Kingswells Primary
Launch: Education for Citizenship


29/10/2002
Deputy
Aberdeenshire
Meldrum Academy
General Visit


07/02/2003
Deputy
Aberdeen City
Cults Primary
Presentation to Carsten Troell-Smith (swimmer)


08/03/2003
Deputy
Aberdeen City
St Machar Academy
Opening of Assocation for Science Education Scotland Annual Conference


01/03/2004
Minister
Aberdeen City
Hanover Street Primary
General Visit


03/08/2004
Deputy
Aberdeenshire
Kintore Primary
General Visit


25/08/2004
Minister
Aberdeen City
Loirston Primary
ICT Materclass Programme


25/08/2004
Minister
Aberdeen City
Charleston Primary
Aberdeen School Building Project

NHS Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is collected on incidents of violence and aggression against NHS staff and what systems are in place for ensuring that all such incidents are recorded.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on incidents of violence and aggression against NHSScotland staff is collected annually and can be seen at www.isdscotland.org . NHS employers are required to have appropriate reporting systems in place that encourage staff to report all incidents of violence and aggression.

Nuclear Power

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received from British Energy or the Health and Safety Executive about the impact of cracks in graphite bricks on the length of outages at Torness and Hunterson B nuclear power stations.

Mr Jim Wallace: This is a reserved matter. The Scottish Executive has received no information from British Energy or the Health and Safety Executive on this matter.

People with Disabilities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) the adult working-age population and (b) its own staff is registered disabled.

Malcolm Chisholm: There is no statutory register of disabled people.

  The Labour Force Survey (2004 Autumn Quarter) estimates that there were 648,000 working age people in Scotland, or 21 per cent of the working age population, estimated to have a disability. Labour Force Survey estimates are entirely based on self-reporting of disability and all respondents answer on their own behalf.

  The Scottish Executive asks staff to self declare whether they have a disability and this information is recorded. As at January 2005, 3.2 per cent of all permanent staff In the Scottish Executive, including its Agencies and Associated Departments, had self-declared their disability. To improve the accuracy of our data we are currently resurveying our staff with regards to their ethnicity and disabled status.

Police

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost will be to the Scottish Block Grant of the setting up of the proposed Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive currently makes an annual financial contribution to the running costs of the National Criminal Intelligence Service, which will be subsumed within the new Serious Organised Crime Agency. No discussions have taken place about any contribution by the Executive specifically for the setting up costs of the new agency but, in any case, such costs are not expected to be significant.

Police

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources Scottish police forces will receive for the additional costs of liaising with the new Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Cathy Jamieson: It is not currently anticipated that there will be any additional costs to Scottish police forces arising from liaison with the new Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Poverty

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-6390 by Ms Margaret Curran on 24 March 2004, by what date it expects child poverty to be eradicated.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive shares the UK Government’s commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020.

Poverty

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18842 by Jackie Baillie on 1 November 2001, how much money has been allocated to administer a central database to assist in the collection of statistics on poverty in each year since February 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: The answer to question S1W-18842 on 1 November 2001, refers to the research into the feasibility of combining existing datasets such as the Scottish Household Survey and the Family Resources Survey to provide a base of Scottish information on income. Following the conclusion of this research, it was determined that this was not a robust solution to produce small area income estimates.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search.

  Following the Income Statistics Seminar, held by the Scottish Executive for users in September 2003, it was concluded that resources would be better targeted elsewhere, for example at obtaining small area data on benefits and tax credits from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Inland Revenue. The work on obtaining small area benefits data is being taken forward through the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics project.

Prison Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations are in place and resources are allocated to ensure healthy nutrition for women at HM Prison Cornton Vale.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  
The Scottish Prison Service aims to provide a healthy nutritious diet for all prisoners within the resources available. Menus have been assessed by nutritionists to ensure they meet dietary needs and there are normally "healthy choice" options. Cornton Vale has won quality awards for catering and it has a prison consultation group to discuss food and food delivery issues.

Prison Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women leaving HM Prison Cornton Vale (a) have and (b) have not received further custodial sentences in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information sought is not available. The SPS have produced Return to Custody Research Bulletins based on a two-year follow up of offenders released from prison in particular years. The reports do not examine establishment of release, but most of the figures relating to females given in these reports will be for women released from Cornton Vale. The relevant reports are entitled Return to Custody in Scottish Prisons, SPS Research Bulletins, Issue 8 (Bib. number 30506) and Issue 22 (Bib. number 35551) and are published and available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Prison Service

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in employment were imprisoned in each of the last five years for failing to pay fines.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information is given in the following table:

  Fine Default Receptions by Employment Status 1999-2003

  

Employment Status
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003


Employed
1,055
969
911
909
901


Unemployed
6,905
6,268
5,879
5,714
5,458


Other/Unknown1
605
466
426
451
399


Total
8,565
7,703
7,216
7,074
6,758



  Note: 1. Includes students, retired people, other and unknown.

Prison Service

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to the taxpayer was of imprisoning people for failing to pay fines in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  
No data is kept on the cost of imprisoning persons in default of a fine payment as opposed to imprisoning other persons. 


  The average annual cost per prisoner place is published in the SPS Annual Report and Accounts. Copies of this publication for each of the last five years are available on the Scottish Prison Service website http://www.sps.gov.uk/keydocs.

Schools

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many violent crimes have been committed in schools in each of the last five years, broken down by education authority.

Peter Peacock: Information is available on the number of incidents reported to the police of violence or antisocial behaviour against local authority staff. It is for head teachers to judge when an incident in their school should be reported to the police. However, any member of school staff has the same right as any other member of the public to report a crime to the police.

  There is no information on how many of the incidents reported in the following table resulted in criminal charges. Incidents reported could have included theft or damage and any other form of crime. No further breakdown of categories is available. The perpetrators may have been pupils, parents or another member of the public. The crimes concern staff in many different education authority roles and not all incidents were committed inside school premises.

  Reports Made to the Police of Incidents of Violence and Anti-Social Behaviour Against Local Authority School Staff

  

 
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


Scotland
145
200
307
237
301


Aberdeen City
15
55
49
33
26


Aberdeenshire
2
1
16
1
2


Angus
7
7
13
15
13


Argyll and Bute
2
8
5
6
9


Clackmannanshire
0
1
3
1
6


Dumfries and Galloway
0
2
6
0
0


Dundee City
12
8
4
17
25


East Ayrshire
4
3
1
5
3


East Dunbartonshire
1
0
6
0
8


East Lothian
1
0
3
0
0


East Renfrewshire
0
0
0
0
0


Edinburgh, City Of
13
32
26
27
29


Eilean Siar
0
2
2
0
0


Falkirk
2
5
7
18
14


Fife
12
0
24
21
18


Glasgow City
10
27
38
19
64


Highland
3
0
0
0
3


Inverclyde
0
1
0
0
3


Midlothian
0
2
7
2
9


Moray
14
5
3
3
1


North Ayrshire
0
9
23
18
16


North Lanarkshire
6
11
11
11
22


Orkney Islands
0
0
0
0
0


Perth and Kinross
4
6
23
14
2


Renfrewshire
22
9
4
5
0


Scottish Borders
0
0
2
4
0


Shetland Islands
0
0
0
0
0


South Ayrshire
3
0
1
0
0


South Lanarkshire
3
2
19
7
11


Stirling
0
2
2
0
2


West Dunbartonshire
2
2
1
3
0


West Lothian
7
0
8
7
15

Schools

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been issued to local authorities to help maintain and develop robust arrangements for monitoring incidents of violence and antisocial behaviour against school staff, as referred to in Better Behaviour in Scotland’s Schools: Policy Update 2004 .

Peter Peacock: In January 2004 I tasked a review group, headed by Professor Pamela Munn and Mr Jim Martin, formerly of the EIS, to consider the most effective way to gather information on indiscipline in schools. I made the advice of the group public in October 2004, in the Executive’s policy update on Better Behaviour in Scottish Schools .

  I am committed to ensuring that there is accurate information on the extent of incidents of indiscipline in schools, by a regular national survey of teachers and pupils. I also stated that local authorities must have in place robust arrangements for monitoring incidents of indiscipline. Local authorities use a range of management information systems to record data in schools.

  In addition local authorities, as employers, are responsible for meeting the statutory requirements for reporting incidents affecting health and safety at work.

Scottish Water

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when Scottish Water’s annual report on the network capacity, which will form the basis for Scottish Water’s work with local authorities, stakeholders and regulators, will be published.

Lewis Macdonald: From April 2006, Scottish Water will be required to publish annually a document outlining their strategic network capacity and development plans.

State Hospital Carstairs

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what review is taking place of pre-release procedures at the State Hospital, Carstairs.

Rhona Brankin: A review is underway looking at unescorted leave of absence for restricted patients from the state hospital. The review will consider the current decision-making process in respect of unescorted leave from the State Hospital including:

  
the arrangements for making such decisions under the mental health legislation, including the roles and responsibilities of ministers, officials, the psychiatric adviser and professional advisers;
  the arrangements in place between professional advisers to assess risk and suitability for unescorted leave;
  the number of decisions that are taken each year to grant unescorted leave and the number of occasions on which recommendations of unescorted leave are rejected;
  a comparison with arrangements in England and Wales, and
  options for varying the current arrangements and an assessment of such options and the status quo in terms of the paramount importance of public safety and confidence in the arrangements and the need to offer appropriate care to assist those with mental health problems to return to and reintegrate into the community where appropriate.


  The review will be conducted by the Health Department with recommendations being offered by me to the First Minister.

  We await receipt of the critical incident review currently being carried out by the state hospital and we anticipate that the review will be available later this month.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish-domiciled students studying at Scottish higher education (HE) institutions were required to pay fees in each of the last three years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The following table gives estimates of the number of Scottish-domiciled HE students studying at Scottish higher education institutions contributing to tuition fees in each of the last three academic years for which data is currently available.

  Scots Domiciled HE Students at Scottish Higher Education Institutions Contributing to Tuition Fee Support 2000-01 to 2002-03

  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


Total
24,071
31,776
31,342


Postgraduate students
5,618
8,420
8,291


First degree students
9,085
11,167
11,998


Of which:
 


Previous HE qualification at or below current level of study
640
808
1,034


First year degree students with an HND
310
458
587


False start/students resitting a year or more
4,458
5,542
6,068


Unknown
3,677
4,359
4,309


Sub degree students
9,368
12,189
11,053


Of which:
 


Previous HE qualification at or below current level of study

5,632
6,517
5,862


False start/students resitting a year or more
1,794
2,843
2,965


Unknown
1,942
2,829
2,226



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Teachers

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out on the factors affecting teachers’ decisions to leave the profession.

Peter Peacock: The Executive’s annual teacher workforce planning exercise takes account of the numbers leaving teaching on the following grounds, domestic reasons, maternity, teaching post outwith Scotland, health grounds, early retirement, age retirement and other or not known. However, we have not carried out any research into the factors affecting teachers’ decisions to leave the profession.

Teachers

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any studies have been carried out in the last eight years on stress affecting teachers.

Peter Peacock: In 2002, the Executive commissioned the Scottish Council for Research in Education to review the literature of research on teacher stress over the previous ten years.

  The review, entitled Feeling the Strain identified fourteen Scottish references. A copy has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Inevitably, there will have been other studies into teacher stress carried out elsewhere.

  The Executive is currently providing financial support to Teacher Support Scotland to develop, with three local authorities, a pilot project aimed at developing a strategy to improve the well being of teachers in Scotland. Local authorities, as teachers’ employers, have responsibilities in these areas. Being aware of the local circumstance in which their teachers work, local authorities are best placed to identify and provide the support required.

Terrorism

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many criminal convictions in respect of terrorism there were in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004, broken down by terrorist organisation and police force area.

Elish Angiolini QC: The table shows the number of accused who were convicted of a charge under The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, The Terrorism Act 2000 or the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 in the financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04 and the police force which reported the case to the Procurator Fiscal.

  This information is held in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service database in relation to case results and is obtained from the Scottish Court Service which holds the official records of court results. The Scottish Criminal Record Office holds the official criminal records of individual accused.

  

Financial Year
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
Strathclyde Police
Tayside Police
Total for Financial Year


2002-03
8
2
4
14


2003-04
5
3
-
8



  The majority of offences, particularly, those reported by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary to the Procurator Fiscal, relate to failures to provide personal information to police officers at ports in contravention of section 53 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

  Information is not available from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service database before 2002. It is also not possible to tell from the database whether common law charges such as assault are terrorism related and this answer is therefore restricted to statutory offences under The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, now repealed by The Terrorism Act 2000 which replaced it when it came into force on 19 February 2001, and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

  It is not possible to tell from the available data whether an individual who was convicted of one of the statutory offences was connected to a terrorist organisation – many of the offences (e.g. refusing to provide personal details when required to do so) can be committed by an accused who has no known or provable connection to a terrorist organisation.

Transport

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which transport projects were funded through European structural funds from (a) 1994 to 1999 and (b) 2000 to 2005, broken down by (a) type, (b) location and (c) cost.

Allan Wilson: Details of transport projects to which European Structural Funds have contributed funding since 1994 have today been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35498).